Historically, carpets are used mostly to help with multiple improvements in living and working areas. Carpets can be used indoors, outdoors, or even in vehicles. Red carpets are laid down at movie premieres to help an event cloak itself with a touch of luxury; sidewalks can be covered by carpets to protect the feet of transition athletes in a triathlon running barefoot from a swim area to a bicycle area. But the large majority of carpet is used for covering floors of different living and working quarters of individuals. While generally what is described herein is the use of carpet in the context of a house, a room, or an office, what is contemplated is the use of the new concepts broadly to any known situation where carpets are currently used.
Houses and workplaces greatly benefit from carpeting. Adding a carpet allows for a very drastic change and refreshment of the overall look and feel of any room. A good example of this dramatic shift is how the area where management works in manufacturing plants will be covered in carpeting.
There are multiple sizes and types of carpets in existence. Carpeting applies equally to larger and smaller areas alike. In the case of smaller areas, the term rug is often used. Rugs have historically been used to cover only a small portion or a strip of an area with carpet. One advantage of having small surface rugs is the capacity to design elaborate pieces of art made of silk or other noble materials, or to cut the carpets in shapes and designs desirable in a room.
Removable carpets are generally rolled into a tube for storage, removal, and cleaning. These removable rugs and carpets can slip as individuals move upon them unless they are secured down with some type of clips or nails. Even smaller carpets are often extremely difficult to clean and wash. Over time, odors collect in rugs until they must be retired. Large carpets to cover a long distance, like red carpets at a movie premiere, must be thin or they may be too heavy to lift by individuals. One other problem of rugs and carpet strips is creation of hazards and interface problems between two adjacent rugs or carpets. For example, someone wearing a high heel shoe may trip if the heel strikes the ground between two adjacent carpets at a joint interface. What is needed is a new method and system of carpeting that is modular, can be easily applied and removed at any situation, that does not create any tripping hazard.
One solution to limit the tripping hazards between rugs or patches of carpet is to cover an entire room by a single large carpet. In this case, there is also no completely finished surface below a room-size carpet. Large room-size carpets are installed by specialists, using long rolls cut to size. Disadvantages of using room-size carpets include the inability to remove them for cleaning and the need to manage odors and humidity. For example, if a dog has an accident, the urine will be drawn into the carpet and will have to be dealt with.
Vacuum cleaners, while capable to collecting dust and some debris accumulating in the upper portion of a carpet, may not be able to dislodge particles trapped below the surface. With time, these permanent carpets will also be damaged in a single area where an accident occurred or where excessive wear is anticipated.
What is needed is a new type of carpeting solution that is easy to clean and easy to install, and offers the advantages of both of these carpeting solutions while having none of the drawbacks.